Nearly 3 weeks into Rohingya crisis, refugees still fleeing

Julhas Alam and Dar Yasin, Associated Press

Updated 11:05 pm, Thursday, September 14, 2017

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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A Rohingya Muslim woman Hanida Begum, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, kisses her infant son Abdul Masood who died when the boat they were traveling in capsized just before reaching the shore of the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

A Rohingya Muslim woman Hanida Begum, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, kisses her infant son Abdul Masood who died when the boat they were traveling in capsized just before reaching the shore of ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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A Bangladeshi boy walks towards a parked boat as smoke rises from across the border in Myanmar, at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. Those who arrived Wednesday in wooden boats described ongoing violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where smoke could be seen billowing from a burning village, suggesting more Rohingya homes had been set alight. less

A Bangladeshi boy walks towards a parked boat as smoke rises from across the border in Myanmar, at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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A Rohingya Muslim man Naseer Ud Din holds his infant son Abdul Masood, who drowned when the boat they were traveling in capsized just before reaching the shore, as his wife Hanida Begum cries upon reaching the Bay of Bengal shore in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

A Rohingya Muslim man Naseer Ud Din holds his infant son Abdul Masood, who drowned when the boat they were traveling in capsized just before reaching the shore, as his wife Hanida Begum cries upon reaching the ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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A Rohingya Muslim woman, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, shouts for help as a relative lies unconscious after the boat they were traveling in capsized minutes before reaching shore at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

A Rohingya Muslim woman, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, shouts for help as a relative lies unconscious after the boat they were traveling in capsized minutes before reaching shore at Shah Porir ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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A man shakes a Rohingya Muslim boy while trying to revive him after the boat he was traveling in capsized just before reaching shore at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. The boy survived. less

A man shakes a Rohingya Muslim boy while trying to revive him after the boat he was traveling in capsized just before reaching shore at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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An elderly Rohingya Muslim man helps a boy get off a boat after they arrived from Myanmar to Bangladesh in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

An elderly Rohingya Muslim man helps a boy get off a boat after they arrived from Myanmar to Bangladesh in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry an elderly woman in a basket and walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. less

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry an elderly woman in a basket and walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks ... more

Photo: Dar Yasin, AP

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Nearly 3 weeks into Rohingya crisis, refugees still fleeing

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COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh.

The crisis has drawn global condemnation, with U.N. officials demanding Myanmar halt what they described as a campaign of ethnic cleansing that has driven nearly 400,000 Rohingya to flee Rakhine state.

One of the dozens of boats carrying Rohingya to the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf capsized Thursday and at least two people drowned, police said. That brought known drownings in the Naf River to 88 since the crisis began.

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Those who arrived Wednesday in wooden boats on beaches near Shah Porir Dwip fishing village described ongoing violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where smoke could be seen billowing from a burning village — suggesting more Rohingya homes had been set alight.

One Rohingya man said his village of Rashidong had been attacked six days earlier by Myanmar soldiers and police.

"When military and police surrounded our village and attacked us with rocket launchers to set fire, we got away from our village and fled away to any direction we could manage," Abdul Goffar said.

Myanmar presidential office spokesman Zaw Htay said that out of 471 "Bengali" villages in three Rakhine townships, 176 were now completely empty while at least 34 more were partially abandoned. Many in Myanmar use that term as part of the long-standing refusal to accept Rohingya as citizens of the country.

Myanmar has accused the Rohingya of burning their own homes and villages — a claim the U.N. human rights chief criticized as a "complete denial of reality."

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters on Thursday that 10,000 people reportedly crossed the border that in the last 24 hours.

Combined with the Rohingyas who fled during the last round of violence in Rakhine state last October, Dujarric said "it's estimated that some 40 percent of the total Rohingya population have now fled into Bangladesh."

An estimated 60 percent of the Rohingyas arriving in Bangladesh are children, Dujarric said.

The crisis and refugee exodus began on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts. Myanmar's military retaliated with "clearance operations" to root out the rebels, but the fleeing Rohingya say Myanmar soldiers shot indiscriminately, burned their homes and warned them to leave or die. Others have said they were attacked by Buddhist mobs. Hundreds have died, mostly Rohingya, and some of the refugees have needed treatment for bullet wounds.

Facing growing condemnation globally, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not attend U.N. General Assembly meetings Sept. 19-25 to instead deal with what the government said were domestic security issues.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Wednesday that ethnic cleansing was taking place against Rohingya in Rakhine state. The term "ethnic cleansing" is defined as an effort to rid an area of an unwanted ethnic group — by displacement, deportation or even killing.

And Amnesty International said Thursday that it has turned up evidence of an "orchestrated campaign of systematic burnings" by Myanmar security forces targeting dozens of Rohingya villages over the last three weeks.

The U.N. Security Council has called for "immediate steps to end the violence" and ensure civilian protections. Rohingya have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, and are denied citizenship despite centuries-old roots in the Rakhine region.

The thousands of Rohingya flooding into Bangladesh every day have arrived hungry and traumatized. Many need urgent medical care for violence-related injuries, severe infections or childbirth.

"The women who are coming for check-ups all have a terrified and exhausted look," said Sumaya, a midwife at the Nayapara refugee camp working in association with the U.N. population fund. "We keep hearing stories from them of walking through jungles and across hills for days without food, their children carried over their shoulders. They've lost their homes."

Two existing refugee camps were packed beyond capacity, and Bangladesh has said it would free land to build a third. Many of the new arrivals were huddling in makeshift shelters along roads or in open fields. Near the camp of Balukhali, some were setting up tents made of bamboo and plastic along hillsides muddy from days of rain. Children walked uphill to capture rainwater before it spilled into the teeming settlements below.

Food, clean water and other necessities were scarce.

Panic erupted Thursday along roadsides where local volunteers were distributing food, water and other supplies haphazardly from parked vehicles. Local officials shouted through bullhorns for volunteers to coordinate their efforts with aid agencies to avoid spreading chaos.

The U.N. children's agency said it needed $7.3 million to help just the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children now at high risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

On Thursday afternoon, a scuffle broke out at a makeshift relief center at Kutupalong, where some refugees tried to break into the center and were beaten back by at least four security guards wielding sticks.

Those who managed to receive some aid after waiting hours in line were dismayed by the meager hand-out.

"I have just got a tarpaulin sheet but no food," said 55-year-old Osman, who gave only one name. "I need rice to eat, I need to feed my family. They said they can't give us anything else. What will I eat now?"

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said humanitarian assistance would increase "very, very quickly." Asked why the response has been slow, Grandi alluded to difficulties working in Bangladesh, but said he hoped this will change as the scale of the crisis becomes more apparent.

It is the Myanmar government's "responsibility to ensure that security returns to Rakhine," Grandi told The Associated Press at the Stockholm Security Conference in Sweden.

Bangladesh already was housing some 500,000 Rohingya who fled earlier flashes of violence including anti-Muslim riots in 2012. Rakhine state had up to 1 million Rohingya before the latest violence.

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Yasin reported from Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh. Associated Press writers David Keyton in Stockholm, Sweden, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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